Jair Bolsonaro lands back in Brazil and is expected to lead rightwing opposition

By The Guardian - Tom Phillips in Brasília - Thu 30 Mar 2023

The far-right former president was greeted by hundreds of supporters on his return after three months in the US. Brazil’s far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro has returned from the US after three months and was greeted by hundreds of supporters at Brasília airport.

Bolsonaro, who never conceded defeat in last year’s election, is expected to lead the opposition to the leftist president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, officials in his Liberal party said.

Supporters with Brazil flags draped around their shoulders sang the national anthem and chanted “legend” as Bolsonaro exited departures at the airport on Thursday.

Before boarding a plane in Orlando, Florida, Bolsonaro downplayed his leadership role and said he would use his experience to help his party campaign in next year’s municipal elections, adding that the vote he lost in October was a closed chapter.

“We have turned a page and now we will prepare for next year’s elections,” he told CNN Brasil.

Bolsonaro left for the US two days before he was due to hand over the presidential sash to Lula on 1 January. He said he needed rest but critics say he was avoiding the risks of more than a dozen legal investigations he may face in Brazil.

Legal inquiries have focused on his attacks against Brazil’s voting system and alleged role in encouraging supporters to storm government buildings in the 8 January riots that recalled the 2021 assault on the US Capitol.

Bolsonaro, who holds the former US president Donald Trump as his political idol, attended the Conservative Political Action Conference this month in Washington, where he questioned the result of the October election narrowly won by Lula and said his mission in Brazil was “still not over.